Tennessee football’s first scrimmage of the fall went down Saturday morning inside Neyland Stadium.

It was the next stage of training camp as the team went for an intrasquad bout. The scrimmage gave a chance to simulate multiple game-like situations, while putting down a stage for the three-man quarterback battle to play out.

“A lot of good. A lot of things to learn from, too,” head coach Josh Heupel said. “Got situational football in, which is good for everybody, in particular quarterbacks. But excited to go watch the tape.”

Here are some takeaways from the morning.

Signal-calling shenanigans

As is the case for the remainder of camp, Tennessee’s quarterback room fielded the most questions. The scrimmage served as the first of its kind, with the newly structured unit featuring Joey Aguilar.

Still, Heupel is not ready to name a starter.

“All three of those guys have shown some really good characteristics of doing some special things with the ball,” Heupel said. “Also managing the game, eliminating negatives. And there’s some things that each of them collectively as a group, we got to get better at. And that’s always the nature of this point in training camp.”

To this point in camp, no signs point to a leader of the pack, either. Aguilar would be the imagined favorite with the experience under his belt, but Merklinger’s playbook knowledge evens the field. Then there’s MacIntyre, who possesses the best arm talent in the room and is proving a fight to position himself as an option during his true freshman year.

But all of them have their flaws, which is why Tennessee holds a scrimmage to help evaluate those before the season begins.

“Overall, there’s a few things that we can clean up at quarterback, but really on both sides of the football too, some subtle details,” Heupel said. “Which, at this point in training camp, you’re constantly growing and pushing to go master the details of the game.

“And that doesn’t just end during training camp. Good teams continue to get better throughout the course of the season. And these guys have had a good mindset, have grown each day. But we got a lot more that we got to get to before we get to kickoff.”

Injury withholding

Injury prevention is the main focus in the fall. With action ramped up, the potential for team detriment rises — and that left many familiar faces out of action on Saturday.

Receivers Braylon Staley and Chris Brazzell did not participate in the scrimmage as a result. Sophomore Mike Matthews did, however, despite missing practice with a minor injury earlier in the week.

Defensively, star corner Jermod McCoy was inactive as he continues to rehab from his torn ACL. Transfer corner Colton Hood also did not participate.

“Your practice habits matter in keeping guys healthy,” Heupel said. “Some of it you can’t control. Guys have continued to push and take advantage of their opportunities. During the course of the season, game day from week to week, there’s an ebb and flow, and next guy’s got to be ready to go.

“And our guys that have been out, some of those guys are coming back. I like what they’ve done in particular in our walkthroughs, the detail of it. But as a football team, we just got to continue to grow.”

With open opportunities, it left a chance for those fighting to make the travel roster to make an impact. Heupel emphasizes that the same mistake cannot be made twice, and repetitions in practices and scrimmages help with that.

He says it’s all about the details of the game, and that is what needs to continue to improve.

“I like the growth that we’ve seen,” Heupel said. “There’s a lot more out there for us still.”

What’s next

Heupel admitted there is still plenty to work on as the season peeks around the corner. With two weeks left before game prep begins, the Vols are still working on both individual and team efforts.

“We still have a lot left individually and collectively by unit, to continue to be our best,” Heupel said. “So a growth mindset and let’s continue to push.”

Much of that is to contribute to the quarterback room, where a starter still must emerge. Without a reliable passer that breaks out of the bunch, it’s an uphill battle to install cohesion amongst the rest of the group.

Paired with the rest of the ongoing position battles, the Vols seem to be in a place with more to be desired before the season kicks off on August 30 in Mercedes-Benz Stadium against Syracuse.